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Topic: Thanks for all the help! (Read 347 times)

Just wanted to acknowledge all the help I've received here and show some of the results. You guys are great, and I have learned a lot from all whether we have interacted or not. Newbie problem posts often solved the problem I was having before I asked, and the reference posts from the masters are great. No names because I don't want to offend anyone I forget to mention, but you know who you are.

On the Fourth, I went to a party with 50 or 60 old friends. I put out a variety of cheeses, about a half pound of most. The cheeses have been documented elsewhere on the board: my 2nd Caerphilly, Gouda, Stilton approximation, Montasio (9 months, part raw milk), chipotle cheddar and "Jack Bhut". The last two had gone back into the cave for a month or more since last trying them and were noticeably better.

Surprisingly the Jack Bhut was the first to go. There were a couple who loved the ghost pepper heat and pronounced it the best thing ever eaten, wishing there was enough for grilled cheese sandwiches. Others were drawn by the challenge. Despite the warning that it was several hundred times hotter than the chipotle cheddar she thought "had a real kick", a 70+ year old friend of my parents insisted on trying a bit. She said "Delici-ooooh!" and developed Little Orphan Annie eyes.

Gouda went quickly (200 easy, using Kazu starter)

You guys even helped my bread - I made a no knead bread to accompany my cheeses that was well received, as the picture below shows.

I forgot to get pictures ahead of time, but the aftermath is shown below. I made mac and cheese with the leftover Caerphilly and a bit more Montasio a couple days later. I thinned the roux with milk and some local microbrew. yum.

Again, thank you to everyone here for making me the hero of the party.

Thanks Boofer. Yes, this made room for some more long aging cheeses, so I have to get to it. I will need to make more peppered cheeses, and perhaps some more cheddars. I already have a Gouda and Gruyere aging. I have another whole milk Montasio I made in December that I will keep aging until the holidays. The one I put out had been sampled at 3 months and now at 7 was much nicer. Another month on the chipotle cheddar since first tasting improved it, too. I want to see what happens when I give it at least 6 months.

I got lucky this time there were no clunkers. Those who knew Caerphilly liked it, but it didn't go as fast as the others. Not terribly surprising. It was good, but the longer aged cheeses were better (to my taste at least) and a bit stronger flavored. On a cheese wheel it would have been in the first spot, followed by the Gouda and then Montasio. The Caerphilly made a nice base for the mac and cheese Saturday, with a Montasio and Gouda accent.

There were those who tried everything and a lot who stuck to something they knew they liked. It was fun to sit back and watch expressions as people worked their way through it. The Gouda seemed to surprise people the most with so much more flavor than the grocery store variety. Some avoided the Stilton rind, others sought it out.